Preliminary Report 3, 2011 - Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

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Maria Louise Sargent Recent Investigation of the Polychromy of a Metropolitan Roman Garland Sarcophagus 34 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following for their valuable assistance: Rikke Hoberg Therkildsen: B.Sc., project conservator from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek for undertaking the preparation of the cross-section, part of the visual examination and taking some of the images. Charlotte Eschen: B.Sc., conservator and intern at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek for assisting with the visual examination and the technical imaging. Jørn Bredal Jørgensen: M.Sc., geologist, School of Conservation of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for the scientific investigation with SEM/EDX. Heinrich Piening: conservator and Leiter der Holzrestaurierung, Labor für Archäometrie, München, for carrying out the UV-VIS analyses. References Abbe, M. B 2010: ‘Recent research on the painting and gilding of Roman marble statuary at Aphrodisias, in: V. Brinkmann, O. Primavesi and M. Hollein (eds.): Circumlitio. The Polychromy of Antique and Medieval Sculpture. Proceedings of the Johan David Passavant Colloquium, 10–12 December. München: pp. 277–289. Liverani, P. 2010: ‘New evidence on the polychromy of Roman sculpture’. In: V. Brinkmann, O. Primavesi, M. Hollein (eds.): Circumlitio. The Polychromy of Antique and Medieval Sculpture. Proceedings of the Johan David Passavant Colloquium, 10–12 December. München: pp. 290–302. Sargent, M. L. and Therkildsen R. H. 2010a: ‘The Technical Investigation of Sculptural Polychromy at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek 2009–2010 – An outline’. In: Tracking Colour – The Polychromy of Greek and Roman Sculpture in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Preliminary Report 2, 2010. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (online) pp. 11–26. http://www.glyptoteket.com/ sites/default/files/tracking-colour_report02_2010.pdf Sargent, M. L. and Therkildsen R. H. 2010b: ‘Research on Ancient Sculptural Polychromy with Focus on a 2 nd Century CE Marble Amazon. In: Tracking Colour – The Polychromy of Greek and Roman Sculpture in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Preliminary Report 2, 2010. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (online) pp. 27–49. http://www.glyptoteket.com/sites/default/ files/tracking-colour_report02_2010.pdf Østergaard, J. S. 1996: Catalogue. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Imperial Rome, pp. 112–115, no. 48. tracking colour – The polychromy of Greek and Roman sculpture in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Preliminary Report 3, 2011 – the copenhagen polychromy network
On the High Gloss Polish of Roman Sculpture 35 Amalie Skovmøller and Rikke H. Therkildsen ABSTRACT Materiality and technique as giving meaning to portraits are often overlooked. 1 In order to discuss the function and meaning of polychrome sculpture in Antiquity not only the identification and technical-analytical investigation of craftsmanship and artistic processes, but also of the often highly complex re-treatment of the antique sculpture after excavation and acquisition, are imperative. Since 2008 the multi-disciplinary Copenhagen Polychromy Network (CPN) at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (NCG) has been committed to research into the polychromy of Greek and Roman stone sculpture to increase our knowledge and to refute myths about not only the ‘white’ Antique, but also the colourful ‘kitsch’ Antique. A newly established branch of NCG/CPN’s research-strategy is in-depth investigation of the polychromy of highly polished Roman portraits in the collection. Attention has focused on a number of imperial portraits from the 3 rd century CE characterized by exquisite refinement in both carving and polish. Spectacular results from microscopy and photo analytical imaging of portrait IN 826 presented in this paper provide new insight into the colour palette and painting techniques on highly polished marble in Antiquity. KEYWORDS Sculptural polychromy, Roman portrait, materiality, white marble, polish, microscopy, visible-induced luminescence imaging, VIL. INTRODUCTION In the summer 2011 the ‘Tracking Colour’ team at NCG found traces of original colouring on top of the polished marble surface of a Roman portrait head of Gaius Julius Verus Maximus, dated to 235–238 CE. (IN 826) (fig. 1–4). 2 This article presents the examination and documentation of the portrait head and its original painted polychromy together with subsequent discussions and considerations. Since Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) and other scholars of the 18 th century established the aesthetic appeal of the white marble, there has only been limited art historical and archaeological focus on Greco-Roman sculptural white marble as a material handled and manipulated by craftsmen. This legacy has subsequently downgraded the role of the craft and the craftsmen through prioritising the question ‘who’ above ‘how’ when viewing Greek and Roman sculptures; first as part of the methodology of iconographical and later as part of semantic theoretical research. 3 Although scholarly attention towards materials used for sculpture in the Greco-Roman culture has increased over the last 30 years, there is still a lack of focus on materiality and its manipulation, and the description and understanding 1 Fejfer 2008, 152–157. 2 Johansen 1995, 106–107 no. 42. Add: Varner 2001, 52 n. 77. 3 Hölscher 1987; Bazant 1995. tracking colour – The polychromy of Greek and Roman sculpture in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Preliminary Report 3, 2011 – the copenhagen polychromy network
Page 1 and 2: 1 — the Copenhagen Polychromy Net
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Page 5 and 6: Preface 5 From June 1 st , 2011, th
Page 7 and 8: Jan Stubbe Østergaard ‘Tracking
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Page 65 and 66: A Bibliography of Publications on A
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Preliminary Report 3, 2011 - Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

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